Exercising equipment



Dec. 12, R950 M. M eREGoR 2,533,273

EXERCISING EQUIPMENT Filed March 15, 1946 &

INVENTOR Mag Mar firgg'w' ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES 'ATENT OFFICE.

EXERCISING EQUIPMENT May MacGregor, New York, N. Y.

Application March 13, 1946, Serial No. 654,145

1 Claim.

This invention relates to exercising equipment and particularly to such equipment for use in reducing the weight of the human body without objectionable loss of weight of the face and neck.

The equipment utilizes my discovery of the value of exercising the human body when inclined at an angle of 12 to 22 with the head lower than the rest of the body. Exercise in such position causes flow of blood to the neck and head and prevents objectionable shrinkage of the tissues of the neck and face while causing the desired slimming, i. e., reduction in weight, of the other parts of the body.

Briefly stated the invention comprises the herein described exercising equipment including a platform that is generally of the shape of a wide board, means supporting the platform at an angle of inclination of approximately 12 to 22 from the horizontal, and pads of shape conforming generally to human shoulders spaced apart at a distance to receive the neck and disposed near the lower end of the inclined platform but a sulficient distance from such end to leave below the pads a short length of the platform to constitute a head rest. The invention comprises also adjustable hand holds mounted upon or adjacent to the sides of the platform.

The invention will be described in detail in connection with the attached drawing to which reference is made.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the exercising equipment showing a user in position upon the board.

Fig. 2 is a plan view in perspective of the equipment of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view partly in section of the equipment of Fig. 1.

There are shown a supporting platform Ill that is preferably somewhat wider than and about as long at least as the human body in fully extended condition, longitudinal braces l2 and cross braces l4 for stiffening the platform, and means for supporting the platform at the critical predetermined angle of 12 to 22, the supporting means including the legs [6 with hinged mounting means l8 adapting the legs to be folded under the board for convenient movement from place to place.

There are shown padded shoulder rests 2B spaced from each other by a distance about equal at least to the width of the neck of a normal person who is to exercise upon the equipment and suitably united to an intermediate lower portion 22 constituting a neck rest.

These shoulder pads and the intervening neck ,use of th exercising equipment, the angle which rest are secured to the platform by any conventional means such as screws (not shown).

The shoulder pads 20 are disposed near the lower end of the inclined platform It), but a sufficient distance from such end to leave below the pads 20 the portion 26 of the platform of length at least approximately equal to that of the human head, this portion 26 serving as a head rest for the user. i

There are shown also the hand holds 28 consisting of looped elongated members of which straps or bands of leather, textile, or rope are examples. These holding elements 28 are secured to the sides of the platform 10 by mount ing members such as the members 30 with button ends.

In order to make the distance from the hand holds to the shoulder pads approximately equal to the arm length of different users of the equipment, the holding elements are suitably provided with engaging means spaced from each other lengthwise of the holding elements, so that the net length of the holding elements, between the positions of grasping by the hands and the positions of mounting upon the exercising equipment, may be varied. Examples of such engaging means are the spaced slots 32 of which any one may be selected for buttoning over the mounting members 30.

The whole assembly when in use rests upon a floor which is indicated by the line 34. For firmness of resting on the floor, the braces l2 are suitably sloped at the lower end to correspond to the angle which the extended plane of the face of the platform l0 makes with the floor. Supporting legs l6 at the high end of the board are suitably but not necessarily disposed at approximately right angles to the board when in the inclined position so as to resist better the thrust of the board when in use.

I have found that for satisfactory results in the plane of the face of the platform l0 makes with the supporting surface such as a floor 34 I0 is appreciably above 22, then the flow of blood to the face and neck is excessive and furthermore there is difiiculty in exercising the body when on the inclined platform. Particularly good results in reducing th weight of the lower part of the body, without causing a haggard appearance of the face and neck, have been obtained when the angle of inclination is about 17.

It will be'understood that the most useful type of exercise recommended with the equipment described is the repeated raising and lowering of the legs in alternation, the raising being to approximately a right angle to the planeof "the i'nclined platform ID.

Thorough experimental testing of "exercising with the head down upon the platform inclined at an angle of 12 to 22 has shown that this inclination prevents objectionable thinningo'fthe face and neck while the rest of the body is being reduced, this prevention of thinning of the face and neck :being particularly important in th'e case of persons in whom for proper appearance such thinning of the face and neck Inust be avoided without preventin'g thinning 0f the rest of the body. Furthermore theexperiments have been carried -to the stage where it can be said that the equipment is not only eflective for the purpose described but safe and dependable with no objectionable-after effects.

It will be understood also 'that it is intended. to cover all changes and modifications o'f the-example of the invention herein chosen for the-purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and-'scopeof the inverttion.

What I claim is:

Exercising equipment for health and beauty consisting essentially of an inclined platform adapted to rest at one end directly upon a horizontal floor and of width somewhat greater than and of length about the same at least as that of the human body, legs serving as supports for the other end of the platform that is the upper end when the platform is in use, means securing the legs to theiplatform at 'aapositionadjacent to the said other end, the legs'being of length to maintain the platform during use at an established angle of inclination of approximately 12 to 22 t'o th'e horizontal, two spaced shoulder pads shaped to conform generally to human shoulders anu defining "therebetween a space of size to receive --the:huma'n: neck, a padded element intermediate the said pads constituting a neck rest, and means supporting these pads and the neck rest upon the platform at a position near to but spaced from the lower end thereof by a distance at least 'equalapproxima'tely t'o the length of the human head, so that the portion of the platform below the'shoul'der padsand ne'ckrest'constitut'es a head rest.

MA Y "M-Ac'GREGOR.

REFERENCES CITED The Tollowingreferences are'of record in the file 'of -this patent:

UNITED STATESPATENTS Number blame Date 1270,73? Hyalt't June 2511 918 156225 I3 *Gellhorn Mar, 29, 1927 12,24022'2'8 Schall v Apr. 29,1941 -2-',30'6;"03 1 Anderson oval De'c. 22, 1942 

